Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Thursday February 26 2026
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Psalm 8:2 (NLT)-You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.
Over the years, I have learned many amazing lessons from children. One lesson in particular comes from speaking with children about God. I never will forget a young mother I baptized into Christ back around 2013 or 2014. Her son was four years old when they started attending church with us at Couchtown. I still remember the interesting conversation that he and I had about God one day after Sunday school. He explained to me that he remembered speaking with God in Heaven before he was born. His descriptions of God and Heaven were remarkable!! Some would say that he just had an active imagination, others that he remembers being with the Lord.
However, one thing is for certain: children have an intrinsic understanding that God exists. One researcher discussed this in the framework of the groundbreaking studies that he performed on the subject:
“SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH on children’s developing minds and supernatural beliefs suggests that children normally and rapidly acquire minds that facilitate belief in supernatural agents. Particularly in the first year after birth, children distinguish between agents and nonagents, understanding agents as able to move themselves in purposeful ways to pursue goals. They are keen to find agency around them, even given scant evidence. Not long after their first birthday, babies appear to understand that agents, but not natural forces or ordinary objects, can create order out of disorder. Before children start school, they see the natural world as purposefully designed—even in ways that religious parents would not teach or endorse. This tendency to see function and purpose, plus an understanding that purpose and order come from minded beings, makes children likely to see natural phenomena as intentionally created. Who is the creator? Children know people are not good candidates. It must have been a god. Gods are not just humans with the ability to make mountains, trees, and butterflies, however. Early default assumptions about minded agents make it easy for children to understand gods as having full-access knowledge, superperception, superpower, immortality, and perhaps moral goodness. In fact, on some of these dimensions, children show the capability of reasoning in a theologically accurate way before being able to reason accurately about human beings on the same dimensions. This collection of religious ideas is among the features of what I call natural religion. In this chapter, I describe natural religion and also how it deviates from theological beliefs. Though children have strong natural tendencies toward religion generally, these tendencies do not inevitably propel them toward any one religion. They still have a lot to learn.” (Justin L. Barrett, Born Believers: The Science of Children’s Religious Belief, 135-136 (Kindle Edition); New York, NY; Free Press a Division Of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
I have often wondered how the world would be a better place if we all looked at it from the vantage point of children.
After all, of such is the kingdom of Heaven!
Matthew 19:14-But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
What are some lessons that we can learn from children?
How can their insights help us to become better Christians?
Lord, help us to learn from children. Amen.